Joachim Yhombi-Opango
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Jacques Joachim Yhombi Opango (born 1939[1]) is a Congolese political figure. He was an army officer who became his country's first general and served as the fourth President of Congo, from 1977 to 1979, and later served as Prime Minister from 1993 to 1996.
Yhombi-Opango was born in Fort Rousset (now Owando) in Cuvette Region, in the north of the Congo.[1] He became a member of the Central Committee of the ruling Congolese Labour Party (PCT) in 1972 and became a colonel and a member of the PCT's Political Bureau in January 1973. He was considered part of the right wing of the PCT.[1]
Following the assassination of President Marien Ngouabi in March 1977, Yhombi-Opango became Head of State. He served in office for nearly two years until being forced to resign in February 1979.[2] He was subsequently held in detention for several years by his successor, President Denis Sassou Nguesso; he was accused of attempting to form a "rightist faction" in the PCT.[3] Sassou Nguesso announced Yhombi-Opango's release when the former was sworn in for a second term as President on November 10, 1984,[3][4] citing "the interest of national unity and peace".[3] In July 1987, 20 officers were arrested for allegedly plotting a coup, and a commission investigating the plot implicated Yhombi-Opango, along with Captain Pierre Anga.[5] In September 1987, Yhombi-Opango was arrested in connection with this plot.[4] Sassou Nguesso announced his release, along with all other political prisoners, on August 14, 1990, in a move marking the 30th anniversary of Congolese independence.[6]
Afterwards, Yhombi-Opango was the candidate of the Rally for Democracy and Development (RDD) in the August 1992 presidential election, taking sixth place with 3.49% of the vote.[7] In his native Cuvette Region, he placed second, with 27% of the vote, behind Sassou Nguesso.[2] He allied with President Pascal Lissouba and Lissouba's party, the Pan-African Union for Social Democracy (UPADS), in the first round of the 1993 parliamentary election, held in May, and after the election Lissouba appointed him as Prime Minister on June 23, 1993. The opposition contested the results, however, and a severe political dispute erupted, with the opposition setting up a rival government.[8] Yhombi-Opango resigned on January 13, 1995 so that Lissouba would have more freedom to consult other parties, but he was promptly reappointed as Prime Minister, with a new government being named on January 23.[9] He remained Prime Minister until August 1996.
Sassou-Nguesso's visit to Owando, Yhombi-Opango's political stronghold, in May 1997 led to the outbreak of violence between his supporters and those of Yhombi-Opango.[10] Following this incident, a civil war broke out, leading to Lissouba's ouster in October 1997; Yhombi-Opanga fled into exile in Cote d'Ivoire and France.
In December 2001, Yhombi-Opango joined two other exiled politicians, Lissouba and Bernard Kolelas, in rejecting the electoral process begun under Sassou-Nguesso, saying that it was not transparent.[11] Along with Lissouba and Kolelas, he called for a passive boycott of the January 2002 constitutional referendum.[12]
In late 2001, Yhombi-Opango was sentenced in absentia to 20 years of hard labor for allegedly selling off the country's oil while he was Prime Minister.[13] An amnesty for Yhombi-Opango was approved by the Congolese Council of Ministers on May 18, 2007.[14] He returned to the Congo on August 10, 2007, and a thousand of his supporters were present to welcome him.[13]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Rémy Bazenguissa-Ganga, Les voies du politique au Congo: essai de sociologie historique (1997), Karthala Editions, page 447.
- ^ a b John F. Clark, "Congo: Transition and the Struggle to Consolidate", in Political Reform in Francophone Africa (1997), ed. John F. Clark and David E. Gardinier, pages 64–65.
- ^ a b c "Jun 1986 - Release of former President-Party and Cabinet changes-Economic problems-Census", Keesing's Record of World Events, Volume 32, June, 1986 Congo, Page 34406.
- ^ a b "LE CONGO DE 1980 A 1997", afriquepluriel.ruwenzori.net (French).
- ^ "Republic of Congo: An old generation of leaders in new carnage", Amnesty International, March 25, 1999.
- ^ "ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS FREED", St. Paul Pioneer Press (nl.newsbank.com), August 15, 1990.
- ^ Elections in Congo-Brazzaville, African Elections Database.
- ^ I. William Zartman and Katharina R. Vogeli, "Prevention Gained and Prevention Lost: Collapse, Competition, and Coup in Congo", in Opportunities Missed, Opportunities Seized: Preventive Diplomacy in the Post-Cold War World (2000), ed. Bruce W. Jentleson, pages 273–274.
- ^ "Jan 1995 - New Congo Cabinet", Keesing's Record of World Events, Volume 41, January, 1995 Congo, Page 40345.
- ^ "ENTRE ARBITRAIRE ET IMPUNITE : LES DROITS DE L'HOMME AU CONGO-BRAZZAVILLE", Congolese Human Rights Observatory and International Federation of Human Rights (fidh.org), April 1998 (French).
- ^ "Congo: Former president, premiers reject electoral process, call for dialogue", Radio France Internationale (nl.newsbank.com), December 12, 2001.
- ^ "Congo: Former premier calls for "passive" boycott of constitutional referendum", Radio France Internationale (nl.newsbank.com), January 15, 2002.
- ^ a b "L'ex-président Yhombi-Opango de retour au Congo après dix ans d'exil", AFP (Jeuneafrique.com), August 10, 2007 (French).
- ^ "L'ancien président Joachim Youmby Opango amnistié par Brazzaville", Xinhua (Jeuneafrique.com), May 19, 2007.
| Preceded by Military Committee of the Congolese Labour Party |
President of the Republic of the Congo 1977–1979 |
Succeeded by Denis Sassou Nguesso |
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